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The United States will welcome 600,000 students from China to study at American universities, former President Donald Trump said Monday, as the U.S. and China seem to make steps to end a tariff war.

“We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China,” Trump said, during a press conference from the White House.

Trump’s vow comes just one day after he threatened Beijing with billions in tariffs and reportedly refused a Chinese offer to meet.

The former president has cracked down on Chinese students with an uncertain visa policy as his administration imposes heavy tariffs and more restrictions.

Trump said at the beginning of May that the U.S. would end its visa freeze for Chinese students, “who we do not want in our country, because we have other students that are far more impressive coming in from all over the world that we’re going to take.”

China’s state-run Global Times said the number of Chinese students is set to “rapidly increase to more than 600,000 by the end of 2023 from around 270,000.”

Chinese exports to the U.S. are now subject to a 145 percent tariff after Washington rolled out broad sanctions on Chinese goods.

Beijing responded with a 125 percent tariff on U.S. exports to China, sparking fears of an ongoing economic war.

In May, negotiators met in Geneva and agreed to hold off on imposing any new levies.

But Trump has floated new tariffs since then, including last week when he suggested that a 200 percent tariff on Chinese-made magnets should be imposed, according to Reuters.

Trump cited the supply of rare earth elements, as China holds “something like a 98 percent monopoly on the magnets.”

“We have been working very hard to change that. But in the meantime, it’ll probably take us a year to have them,” Trump said, adding, “China, intelligently, went and they sort of took a monopoly on the world’s magnets.”

A source told Reuters last week that no decision had been made on the tariffs, but the U.S. government could levy them “fairly quickly.”

Trump’s comments were the latest softening of an earlier hard line by his own administration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that the U.S. would “aggressively revoke” visas of Chinese nationals, especially those associated with the Chinese Communist Party or engaged in sensitive research.

The university lobby group warned in May that the Chinese student ban would cost millions of dollars in tuition.

Trump himself reversed course later in June, telling reporters that he has “always been in favor” of allowing Chinese students into the U.S.

Monday’s comments cemented the shift, as Trump said that student visas would not be touched.

Trump made the announcement one day before he was to meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

Trump was asked if he would be willing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, to which he answered in the affirmative.

“I would like to meet him this year. We’ll see what happens. But I would like to meet him this year. But I think it’s very important to meet because we’re talking,” Trump said.

Trump has long been at odds with China and its top leader, Xi Jinping, over trade.

“We have a very strong tariff that China is paying us right now, having to do with their fake trade and the way they do business, and so they’re paying billions and billions of dollars into our Treasury,” Trump said, adding, “We have a very good relationship economically, far better than what we had with Biden because he allowed that. They just took him to the cleaners.”

Trump said he would like to see a meeting happen with China this year, noting, “We have to be talking.”